


Second Chances

by kcstories



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 30 Days Of Neville, Canon Divergence, F/M, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-25
Updated: 2008-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-25 16:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7540603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcstories/pseuds/kcstories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the first day back at school, Professor Longbottom receives some surprising news from one of his students.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairing(s):** Neville/Ginny (Mention of past Harry/Ginny and past Neville/Hannah)  
>  **Disclaimer:** This is a work of fanfiction set in the Harry Potter universe – all recognisable characters and settings are the property of J. K. Rowling and her associates. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is made from this work. Please observe your local laws with regards to the age-limit and content of this work  
>  **Warning(s):** AU-ish, (sort of) DH epilogue compliant, hint of fluff.

Neville walks into his office with a big smile on his face.   
  
His tummy is full and his head is pleasantly buzzing from the sweet red wine he had at dinner—not too much of it, of course, but enough to mark this as a festive occasion.   
  
The Sorting Ceremony and Welcoming Feast are precisely that, after all, especially for the Muggleborn first-years who always look around the Great Hall in awe, their faces filled with excitement and just a hint of fright too, since everything is still so new and they did just take a giant leap into the unknown.   
  
Neville’s smile turns melancholic. _Oh to be that young again…_   
  
Or perhaps not.   
  
He doesn’t have many fond memories of his own school days. He largely bumbled his way through them, making a fool of himself at every other turn.   
  
Not that he still thinks about that period of his life often. It’s so long ago and besides, things ended well. Mostly.   
  
He is healthy and generally happy, teaching a subject he has been enamoured with from the very first moment he set foot in a Hogwarts’ greenhouse.   
  
One might say he has found his way in life, and according to his gran, that’s the most important thing.   
  
Neville nods to himself. He mustn’t forget to write her later. She insists he keep in touch, Owl her at least once a week, and he gladly complies.   
  
They’re each other’s only remaining family, after all; with the exception of his parents, but their predicament is as bleak as it was twenty years ago, with no hope of improvement in sight.   
  
Sometimes Neville’s thoughts turn maudlin when he considers what might happen if he lost her. He has plenty of friends, of course, but none of them could ever replace his beloved grandmother.   
  
Still, he reassures himself, Augusta is a rock; tough as nails. She will probably live to see her two-hundredth birthday, if only to prove a point.   
  
A knock at his door makes him look up. “Yes?” he calls out.   
  
Lily Potter enters the room. She's a fourth year now and looks almost exactly like her mum did at that age, although she has her father’s intense green eyes.   
  
Neville always feels a little sad at the sight, but is careful not to let it show. “Oh hello, Lily,” he says pleasantly “What can I do for you this fine evening?”   
  
“Mum sends her love, Professor,” she says softly.   
  
Neville nods. His mind inadvertently drifts to a December night many moons ago and to a beautiful young girl in a crowded ballroom. Ginny Weasley was his first love, and no one else has been able to steal his heart since.   
  
Seven months after the war, Neville did date Hannah Abbott for a while, mostly at his gran’s encouragement, and although the girl became a good friend—she still is one today—the spark just wasn’t there.   
  
For a long time, Neville kept hoping that Ginny might one day see him as more than an old school chum, but then Harry Potter went and got a crush on her, and that was that. All hope was shattered.   
  
No one stands a chance against Harry Potter.   
  
“Thanks,” Neville says, as always when he and one of Ginny’s children have this type of exchange. “Be sure to pass on my kindest regards in return.”   
  
“Yes, of course, but…“ Lily hesitates. Her brow is furrowed and she is wringing her hands. She looks nervous, nothing compared to her usual chirpy self.   
  
“Yes?” Neville ventures carefully. “Was there something else?”   
  
The girl takes a deep breath and blurts out, “My parents split up over the summer. Dad moved out and is now living in Manchester. We—” She raises her arms, like she wants to say more, but then lets them fall limply by her sides. She clearly can’t find the right words, hasn’t a clue how to continue or whether she even should.   
  
Neville blinks. This is the first he hears about Ginny and Harry’s marital problems, and the news leaves him gobsmacked, to say the least. Instantly, a whirlwind of thoughts rages through his head. The majority of them concern Ginny and aren’t too charitable towards her estranged husband.   
  
“Oh, dear,” he says and wishes he possessed more eloquence at times like this. “Why don’t you take a seat? Would you like a cup of tea, or some Pumpkin Juice?”   
  
“All right,” Lily replies quickly, and sits down on the chair in front of his desk. “I don’t need anything to drink, though. I’m fine. Thanks.”   
  
Neville takes the chair across from her and studies her carefully. She looks like she might cry, but he knows she won’t. She won’t allow herself to. She’s too much like her mum in that respect: brave, proud and incredibly pigheaded.   
  
“Anyway,” she continues, her voice wavering slightly. “It turned out that they’d been having problems for a long time, but they’d both decided to wait until we—until they thought I was old enough to cope with a break-up. It’s been… a really strange summer.” She lets out a long shaky breath, and gives him a small, watery smile.   
  
Neville nods. He still isn’t entirely sure how to respond. He has never been good at handling this sort of thing, and frankly, he’s shocked. Harry and Ginny were always the perfect couple, with the perfect family to match.   
  
Perhaps a little too perfect, in hindsight.   
  
Neville knows Hermione had her doubts about that relationship—she told him one Christmas—but then it’s common knowledge how Hermione tends to be overthink things.   
  
“I’m terribly sorry, Lily,” Neville finally says, snapping himself back to the present. All that introspection can wait until later. “I had no idea.”   
  
“Nobody did,” she states plainly. “And it’s not like they frequently fought or anything. They’re still friends, I suppose. Mum said that somewhere along the way, they just fell out of love.” She frowns.   
  
Neville nods slowly. All he can think is Harry Potter is an idiot. He knows that’s not a terribly nice thought, and certainly not one he can share with the man’s daughter, but since Harry Potter was the one who won Ginny in the end, the least the stupid sod could have done— _should_ have done—was to make her happy for the rest of her life.   
  
“Anything I can do to help?” he asks, realising he is being too quiet, lost in thought, while Lily clearly needs his counsel or she wouldn’t have approached him, which makes him wonder why she came to him and didn’t discuss this with her grandmother or with one of her aunts.   
  
He gets the answer to that question soon enough.   
  
“You’ve already helped me, Professor,” she says, and at his confused look continues, “You listened, and only listened. You aren’t sitting there right now asking me a million sticky questions I don’t have any answers to. I know most people are simply concerned about my family and me, and they don’t mean to pry, but some others have been acting like real vultures.” She shakes her head and mutters in a tone so soft he almost can’t hear her, “Makes you wonder if they’re not actually gloating over my parents splitting up.”   
  
“You’re very welcome, Lily,” Neville says, deciding it best to ignore her last remark, “but are you certain there’s nothing else I can do?”   
  
“Um…” She coughs, hesitating again.   
  
“Yes?”   
  
“My mum…”   
  
Neville’s heart clenches. It pains him to ponder on how distressed Ginny must be. Even if the break-up was as amicable as Lily claims, it doesn’t change all those things Ginny gave up in favour of staying home and raising a family. She cut short a promising Quidditch career, she never furthered her education beyond Hogwarts...  
  
Neville doesn’t doubt for one minute that she did all those things willingly, and of her own accord—Harry wouldn’t have tried to push her, and he certainly wouldn’t have succeed if he had—but still… She deserved better.   
  
She still does.   
  
“What about your mum, Lily?”   
  
“Well, Gran and Granddad fuss over her every time she visits, and Uncle Ron’s acting like a massive prat about the whole thing which, I suppose, is nothing new… Er, sorry, Professor, I probably shouldn’t have said that—it wasn’t very respectful to my elders—but my point is: Mum could probably use a good friend right now, someone who’ll just take her out for a meal and a lend an ear and treat her like a normal person, not a poor, pitiful divorcée. I mean“—she takes a deep breath—“I’m sure she’d love to hear from you sometime, and two weeks from now, um…”   
  
Neville watches her expectantly. “Go on.”   
  
"You’ve always been a good friend of Mum’s, haven’t you, Professor?”   
  
“Yes,” he replies sincerely.   
  
“She’s coming down to Hogsmeade the Saturday after next, to have lunch with me and to do a spot of shopping as well. It’ll be just the two of us—Al’s got some Quidditch thing—but maybe you could join us as well?”   
  
Neville frowns. He considers her suggestion for a long moment, before he replies, “Wouldn’t she prefer to spend time with you alone? Maybe talk about all the changes, mother to daughter?”   
  
Lily shakes her head. “We already had that chat two weeks ago, about people changing and growing up and growing apart.”   
  
“I see.”   
  
She bites her lip, and for a moment, she looks at him as though she’s trying to read his mind.   
  
Neville smiles. She’s a smart girl, and she was sorted into Ravenclaw for a good reason and despite her spontaneity that stems from being raised by generations of Gryffindors   
  
“Look,” he finally says, “how about I Owl your mum and tell her what you suggested?”   
  
That couldn’t do any harm, he decides, and if he’s entirely honest with himself, the news of Ginny’s failed marriage does worry him. He wonders how she’s coping in that big old house all by herself. She has never been alone before. That in itself must already be quite an adjustment.   
  
“All right.” Lily’s smile is wide and clearly genuine. “She’ll be really chuffed to hear from you, I’m sure. She’s been talking about you a lot lately.”   
  
“Oh? Has she?” he says, struggling to keep the surprise and hope out of his voice. At least he isn’t fourteen anymore, so he manages to feign a casual interest, just barely.   
  
Lily nods, before quickly jumping up from her chair. “I’m so glad we had this chat, Professor,” she tells him. “I suppose I should go and see my dorm mates now. We’ve got loads of catching up to do, and it’s almost curfew as well. “   
  
He, too, moves to stand. “All right, Lily. Good night. And don’t stay up too late. Classes start at a quarter to nine.”   
  
“Yes, Professor.” The girl beams him a wide smile, and all but skips out of the room.   
  
Staring at the empty space she just occupied, Neville gets the distinct impression something here is going right over his head, even though he can’t for the life of him imagine what it might be.   
  
  
  


*****

  
  
  
  
It’s a pleasantly warm September day. The sun is bright and the sky a beautiful shade of blue. There isn’t a cloud in sight as Neville follows Lily to a small tavern in the village centre. It’s one of many establishments that sprang up like mushrooms a few months after the war.   
  
Ginny decided to meet her daughter and her childhood friend there. She isn’t yet up to dealing with concerned teachers or anyone else who may be tempted to mention her impending divorce.   
  
Neville can’t blame her at all and truth be told, he’s still rather uncertain how to broach the subject himself, and whether he even should.   
  
Perhaps it would be best to wait and see what she wants to talk about, and not steer their conversation in any particular direction.   
  
She is standing by the glass doors, her long red hair in a ponytail. Her face is a little softer than he remembers, with small lines around her eyes from both worry and laughter. Giving birth to three children has left her a stone or two heavier than she was in her early twenties. She’s still the most beautiful woman Neville has ever seen.   
  
He’s relieved to note she seems relaxed too. If she’s currently distressed or in any way ill at ease, she hides it well.   
  
“Hi Mum!” Lily says, breaking the silence as she flings herself into her mother’s arms. “It’s great to see you.”   
  
“You too, dear,” Ginny says. She releases her daughter and takes a step forward to envelop Neville into a brief hug as well. “Lovely to see you again too,” she says. “It’s been far too long.”   
  
“Yes,” he says, taking a step backwards. “It has. You’re looking well, by the way.”   
  
“Thank you.” She beams.   
  
The three of them head into the cosy tavern.   
  
Lunch is a pleasant affair. Most of the time, the conversation flows easily and on those rare occasion it threatens to stall, Lily interjects with tales about her youngest brother and the pranks he gets up to with his Slytherin cohorts.   
  
She has just finished telling another Potions anecdote that landed Albus and Scorpius Malfoy in detention, when she looks over her mother’s shoulder and remarks, “Oh! Rose is here, too.”   
  
Neville glances towards the window to see Ron and Hermione’s daughter standing there, a friendly smile on her face.   
  
“Perhaps you should ask her to join us?” Ginny suggests.   
  
“Oh. No,” Lily replies quickly—too quickly. “She’ll be wanting to go to that new bookshop before it closes. You know she’s just as bad as Aunt Hermione in that respect. I should probably go with her before she buys every book she can lay her hands on. See you around six; all right, Mum?” She gets up, adds a pleasant, “Bye Professor,” and hurries out of the tavern.   
  
Neville looks at Ginny and frowns, even more so when she bursts out laughing. The happy sound warms his heart, even though he still hasn’t the slightest clue what’s so funny all of a sudden.   
  
“Is it just me, or do you also have the feeling we’ve been set up?” she asks, and chuckles again.   
  
Neville blinks. “Er, set up? What for? And would she even do something like that?”   
  
“Oh yes,” Ginny replies. “She most certainly would. Sometimes I’m actually surprised Albus was the only one of my children who ended up in Slytherin.”   
  
Neville shakes his head and smiles. He doesn’t doubt Lily meant well, even if this has been a set-up of some kind, and besides, he can hardly complain about getting an opportunity to spend some time with Ginny alone.   
  
The two of them settle into a comfortable silence. They sip their tea and then after ten or so minutes Neville asks, “You’re all right, though, aren’t you? Really?”   
  
She nods. “Yes. I’m fine. It’s a little strange living by myself, especially now Albus and Lily are back at school and James is off doing Auror training. Harry is still my best friend, even though we—well.”   
  
“Yeah.” Neville says. “I’m glad you were able to stay friends.” And he is, truly, though he remains unimpressed with Harry Potter for letting such a wonderful woman go.   
  
“But it was high time,” she continues. “We had to say goodbye before it was too late for a second chance.”   
  
Neville blinks. He doesn’t quite catch her meaning. “A second chance?”   
  
“Yes,” she begins to explain. “We’re still young… _-ish_ , especially in wizard terms. Maybe he’ll meet someone else, someone he’ll be happy with for the rest of his life.”   
  
“Oh. You’re really not angry at him then? Not even a little bit?”   
  
“No,” she says. “It was disappointing at first, realising where we were heading, but we came to terms with it a long time ago. Besides, everyone deserves a second chance, don’t you think?”   
  
Neville nods, and he can’t but wonder if she meant that like he thinks she did—or is that just wishful thinking on his part?   
  
“Everyone,” she reiterates, and places her hand over his.   
  
He looks up into big brown eyes, and smiles. Yes, a second chance does sound good.


End file.
